Sandwiched between the electrolyte and electrodes in a lithium-ion battery is a remarkably thin layer of material that strongly dictates battery performance and durability: the interphase. Although typically only a few to tens of nanometers thick, interphases are among the least understood components of an operating battery cell. Their complex and constantly evolving structures make it challenging to determine how their atomic features and microscopic variations translate into macroscopic battery performance.

Carnegie Mellon University researchers developed a framework to help the United States secure the power infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, all while reducing vulnerabilities in the global supply chains that make that infrastructure possible.

Hydrogen fuel cells are a promising clean-energy technology with the potential to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions if widely adopted. As they generate electricity, the only byproduct of their reactions is water. However, improving their performance depends on developing better materials that can more efficiently transport ions.

A company that helped design how astronauts grow and recycle food in space is now applying that thinking to the critical problem of dairy waste here on Earth.

Circular-economy thinking is becoming increasingly important in the construction sector. It helps reduce raw material consumption and emissions and can provide a well-thought-out reuse and recycling scheme to cut costs.

Data centers have become a contentious issue across the country.

Together with partners from research and industry, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has modified the structure of battery electrodes so that the battery cells can store 10%–15% more energy at the same weight. They achieved this by more than tripling the coating thickness of the battery electrodes—for example, in lithium-ion batteries—which simultaneously reduces the number of current collectors in the battery cell. The research team implemented the new electrode architecture in lithium-ion pouch cells manufactured using industry-standard processes. Furthermore, they successfully applied the concept to zinc-ion and sodium-ion battery cells.

Plastic packaging is designed around appearance, convenience and function, but what happens after disposal is often considered separately—yet managing this waste is key to building a circular economy, since good recycling requires sorting plastics correctly by type. Transparent polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene, for example, can be difficult to distinguish visually, making accurate separation challenging.

A digital scheduling framework combining machine learning, optimization and blockchain technology could reduce carbon emissions at a lower cost in regional energy systems, according to research in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution. The system cut the marginal emission-reduction cost—the additional expense of removing one more ton of carbon—by about 12% when the carbon quota was restricted to half the system's baseline emissions.

A research team has developed a highly durable platinum-nickel (PtNi) hydrogen evolution catalyst that suppresses nickel (Ni) leaching through atomic ordering. Nickel leaching is a major cause of performance degradation in catalysts used for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE). The findings are published in the journal Carbon Energy.

As extreme weather intensifies, Reese Greenlee is testing the limits of 3D-printed concrete to create stronger, more accessible storm shelters for vulnerable communities.

With airlines and consumers increasingly concerned about carbon, nitrogen and hydrocarbon emissions, biofuels have emerged as a green alternative. Among these, those made from coconut oil are particularly attractive because they have fatty acid chain lengths similar to the hydrocarbon chain lengths required for jet fuel, suggesting they could make effective fuels with minimal processing.

Australia's growing mountain of solar panel waste could become far more valuable, with University of Newcastle researchers taking a major step toward making solar panel recycling economically sustainable. The team has successfully scaled up a process that recovers valuable silver from end-of-life solar panels, demonstrating almost 100% silver recovery during the world's first continuous pilot-scale flotation trial for solar-panel recycling.

One of the most promising technologies is perovskite solar cells. They are highly efficient at converting sunlight into electricity, can be manufactured as thin and flexible devices, and require less energy and lower production costs than conventional silicon modules. However, their commercial adoption has long been limited by a fundamental challenge—insufficient long-term stability when exposed to moisture, heat and oxygen.

Cornell researchers are using artificial intelligence to speed the search for better battery materials while using a creative approach to chemistry to expand the design space for electrolytes, unlocking new possibilities for safer, higher-performing energy storage.

Residents of Moerdijk, a small Dutch port village that survived World War II bombing and subsequent flooding, are facing a new existential challenge: the threat of being bulldozed in the name of clean energy.

European energy operators are braced for next week's solar eclipse, which is expected to cause a temporary dip in power generation, and have taken steps to keep electricity flowing to businesses and consumers, an industry body said Friday.

Keele scientists have developed a new kind of electrolyzer that produces both hydrogen and the base materials for sustainable plastic production, opening avenues for a range of applications in green technology and sustainable development.